Kai and Kisuke stood just beyond the jagged ridge overlooking the Fire Force outpost, cloaked in the afterglow of dusk and the warm hum of chaos brewing in their blood.
Both dropped into ready stances.
"You feel that?" Kai cracked his knuckles, practically vibrating with adrenaline. "Oh hell yeah, I'm pumped!"
He yanked off his patched-up jacket—the one he'd stolen from the outpost they crashed earlier—and tossed it aside. "The Plasma and Fire Mark duo going at it!" he grinned.
Kisuke's face twisted in disbelief. "Wait. Plasma and Fire Mark duo? That's what we're calling ourselves now?" He gave a sigh like he'd just been force-fed garbage. "I knew you were stupid, but I didn't realize you were creatively bankrupt too."
"Shut your crispy plasma mouth. I didn't ask for your commentary." Kai turned and squared up to Kisuke like he was ready to throw hands then and there.
But Kisuke, always the more level-headed, just waved him off. "Look. If we're naming stuff, at least make it not sound like a second-rate boy band. How about… Infernal Crest? That actually sounds like an ability worth fearing."
Kai paused. The words echoed in his head.
Infernal Crest.
He grinned slowly. "Yeah… Yeah, that's clean."
A flash of flame danced over Kai's skin, igniting along the scars and markings that formed from Adolla's touch. His aura surged with barely-contained heat, and Kisuke shivered instinctively—just for a second. He blinked.
And in that blink, Kai was gone—already full sprint, tearing through the air like a comet.
"YOU READY!?" Kai roared.
Kisuke launched after him with a blur of plasma sparks, catching up mid-air. "LET'S GO!"
Kai's fist cocked back, fire coiling around it in molten spirals.
He grinned, mad and brilliant.
Then he slammed his burning fist straight down.
BOOOOM.
The base's roof cracked and cratered instantly, an eruption of force echoing like a shockwave of thunder. Inside, alarms screamed, soldiers scrambled, and panic filled the air.
From above, Kisuke unleashed a barrage of plasma projectiles that split through the walls and ignited the hallways in spirals of electric flame. Then he dropped down into the fray, spinning with blinding speed.
"ASURA BURST!" he shouted.
A whirlwind of energy exploded outward—razor slashes of glowing plasma tearing vertically through the entire building like a divine blade from the heavens.
Seconds later, the outpost split clean down the middle.
Kai was already dashing through the chaos, leaving trails of scorched earth in his wake. He launched into the air and spike-punched a soldier into the ground like he was dunking a meteor.
"YOOO—some are escaping!" Kisuke shouted mid-air, spotting troops fleeing the wreckage.
"Kai! LOB ME!"
Without missing a beat, Kai snatched Kisuke's wrist and spun like a hammer throw, unleashing him with all his pyrokinetic strength. Kisuke became a blur of heat and velocity, streaking across the sky wrapped in a veil of Kai's transparent flames.
"FINNA MAKE THE FIELD GLOW WITH THIS ONE!" Kai bellowed.
Kisuke flipped mid-flight, sword glowing white-hot as it drew power from both their flames. He pointed the blade downward.
They locked eyes in mid-air.
"INFERNAL—PLASMAAAAAAA!!!" they screamed in unison.
The impact was apocalyptic.
The ground exploded in a storm of fire and plasma, the shockwave flattening the remaining towers of the base. Smoke twisted in spirals, glowing embers raining down like fireflies in hell.
The Fire Force troops that weren't knocked out were definitely questioning all of their life choices.
Kai and Kisuke stood in the middle of the wreckage, side-by-side, the flames casting long shadows behind them.
"…That was actually kinda beautiful," Kai muttered, eyes wide in awe.
Kisuke nodded. "Almost makes up for how stupid your names usually are."
They roamed through the crumbled remains of the facility until they found what they came for—a secured vault holding the red book.
The very one with knowledge erased from public records. Secrets of Adolla. The Great Cataclysm. Everything the Fire Force didn't want the world to remember.
Kai tucked it under his arm, and they slipped away into the smoke and silence.
Hours Later...
Captain Shin stood at the scorched edge of the base, the ruins glowing faintly with residual heat.
His entire squad was half-crisped, dazed, and charred.
But Shin?
He smiled.
A rare, unnerving smile.
"They're alive," he said quietly. "And they're finally moving."
He looked up into the ash-colored sky, eyes narrowing like a predator.
"Let the real hunt begin."